Title: Experience in improving fertiliser value of compost by enriching with urine

Authors: Heinz-Peter Mang, Ina Patricia Jurga, Zhe Xu

Addresses: Chinese Academy of Agricultural Engineering (CAAE), Institute for Energy and Environmental Protection (IEEP), Beijing, China. ' Chinese Academy of Agricultural Engineering (CAAE), Institute for Energy and Environmental Protection (IEEP), Beijing, China. ' Chinese Academy of Agricultural Engineering (CAAE), Institute for Energy and Environmental Protection (IEEP), Beijing, China

Abstract: Urine contains a lot of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and could act as valuable plant fertiliser. But urine is often either flushed down a toilet or enters a pit latrine, thus being lost to agriculture and increasing surface and groundwater contamination with nitrogen. Ecological sanitation concepts are closing the loop of nutrients contained in wastewater with agriculture. Besides providing adopted technology solutions, it also contributes to local food security, which is important in many developing countries. The paper summarised the findings of three research works that introduce ecological sanitation, where urine enriched compost produced either from animal or human excreta.

Keywords: compost; urine; organic agriculture; ecological sanitation; developing countries; composting; plant fertiliser; wastewater.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2007.015158

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2007 Vol.7 No.3/4, pp.464 - 471

Published online: 18 Sep 2007 *

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